A Look At The Falcon Red Zone Performance, Week 5

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Last week, we took a look at the Atlanta Falcons' red zone performance for the year to date and found some very good things. Apparently, the Falcons are nigh unstoppable when they get within 20, which is always a heartwarming finding. Fresh off a 45-10 shellacking of the 49ers, I figured we'd take a look at how the guys in red and black did in that category once more. Here's a hint: Exceptionally well.

Last week, I took aim at conservative playcalling that I felt didn't really give the Falcons a chance to make use of all their short-yardage weaponry. Obviously someone was listening (or so I like to imagine in my pathetic, self-centered way), because the Falcons went berserk and scored from pretty much everywhere on the field in a series of long, time-devouring drives that we all loved. It also made for an effective red zone performance, as you might imagine.

We scored all four times we were within 20 yards against the 49ers, one of the league's more vaunted defenses coming into the game. Not only that, but it was against the strong front seven that we made our case, with all three of Michael Turner's touchdown runs and Matt Ryan's skip to the endzone comprising those four scores. It's an incredible testament to our ability to score at will once we get close.

For those keeping score at home, that now gives us 10 touchdowns, a pair of field goals and only one abject failure in 13 trips to the red zone this year. That's roughly a 92% success rate; in an educated guess, I'd say that's one of or the best success rate in the league. Admittedly it's only four games, but who cares? We're perfectly capable of keeping this up all season long, and that's great news. Look out, Chicago Bears!

Your thoughts?